No Game, No Life

[shinta|hikari]

I really love OP characters. I don't give a damn how impossible it is for Shiro to predict the game moves (and odd how she took 3 straight turns), or how improbable all of Sora's gambles are. Blank does not know defeat.

I like how Sora takes everything one step further. It isn't enough to win. He managed to get allies with trust and not force. I'm also glad they resolved how Sora and Shiro managed to move around without each other. They were simply holding it in, which makes sense because people can rein in fear for a period of time when the situation calls for it, but that does not permanently cure them of it.

[Ryllharu]

(though I'm not sure what Stephanie is good for, other than entertainment)

Didn't they find out a few episodes ago when they accidentally ruined her plan in the throne room? Stephanie is actually an amazing administrator and an expert in Imanity politics. She had been slowly manipulating all the nobles for years so only those allied with her lineage had any power at all. She still runs the country because Shiro and Sora can't be bothered to do it. It's only in games that she's mediocre.

I really love OP characters. I don't give a damn how impossible it is for Shiro to predict the game moves (and odd how she took 3 straight turns), or how improbable all of Sora's gambles are. Blank does not know defeat.

Given that Shiro is presented as a strategic genius far beyond the level of Sora, I can see that she would predict he'd play Reversi/Othello as an "optimal" match. They're both smart enough to play a un-losable match, but it's probably only Shiro who could run through all those iterations of how Kurami would play. I'm not so sure that she played three straight turns either. Sora presumably set up the board for her so that Kurami could only finish the game in certain spots, and that Shiro playing from outside would win the game by a landslide.

Reversi/Othello is one of those games that was long ago "solved" by computers (it actually hasn't).

I'm quite interested in how they are going to use the ability to manipulate Fi's memory at will.

[Archangel]

I never liked this "I'm so clever i can predict your every thought" trope, it was bad in Code Geass and it's still bad now.

[shinta|hikari]

It was actually cool in Code Geass the first time because it was executed so well, with even recorded dialog overlapping the other party. The 2nd time was just stupid and unbelievable.

I think the hard sell here is that Shiro cannot see the board, so she does not know if the other party even took a turn. I still don't care. I loved it.

[Ryllharu]

I don't really see the "I'm so clever I can predict your every thought" from Code Geass as a valid comparison here. Shiro has been cast as someone really amazing at games where the rules are clearly defined, but her weakpoint is that she's not very good at handling cheating or things that require leadership, charisma and bluffing. Sora is a master liar, but lacks her raw intelligence and hand-eye(& foot) coordination. That's why they are unbeatable as a pair.

A game as simple as Othello can be optimized by math. There have been computerized versions able to beat very good human players since the 1980s. The two are certainly good enough to recognize how the other would play, and now that I actually think about his strength, Sora would be an expert at forcing Kurami to play the way they'd want through bluffs and misdirection (as he has been shown to use often). Shiro would know what moves he intended to force Kurami to make.

He set himself up for apparent failure so that Shiro could finish it for him. Othello is a game where the tide can completely turn in just a few moves. You sort of have to lose a little to gain back a lot.

[shinta|hikari]

I think it is better to check in realism at the door to enjoy this show. It is obviously not meant to be realistic. They are an unbeatable pair, and that is part of the premise.

[Kraco]

I don't really see the "I'm so clever I can predict your every thought" from Code Geass as a valid comparison here. Shiro has been cast as someone really amazing at games where the rules are clearly defined, but her weakpoint is that she's not very good at handling cheating or things that require leadership, charisma and bluffing. Sora is a master liar, but lacks her raw intelligence and hand-eye(& foot) coordination. That's why they are unbeatable as a pair.

A game as simple as Othello can be optimized by math. There have been computerized versions able to beat very good human players since the 1980s. The two are certainly good enough to recognize how the other would play, and now that I actually think about his strength, Sora would be an expert at forcing Kurami to play the way they'd want through bluffs and misdirection (as he has been shown to use often). Shiro would know what moves he intended to force Kurami to make.

He set himself up for apparent failure so that Shiro could finish it for him. Othello is a game where the tide can completely turn in just a few moves. You sort of have to lose a little to gain back a lot.

Yeah. But she couldn't see the board. Mere 2 cm off and she would have placed her piece wherever. I didn't find it nonplausible she could continue from where Sora left or even guess what he was going for (since there was even some evidence, when she thought about it long enough), far from it, but she didn't see what she was doing! No amount of wits or mathematics would help there.

[Buffalobiian]

I really love OP characters. I don't give a damn how impossible it is for Shiro to predict the game moves (and odd how she took 3 straight turns), .

According to wiki:

Players take alternate turns. If one player can not make a valid move, play passes back to the other player. When neither player can move, the game ends.

It's possible for Sora to have set up the game in a way that would allow Shiro 3 straight turns.

[Kraco]

Episode 10 - HS




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Their reaction was the opposite to what I'd have expected. Shouldn't they feel like they had a home court advantage instead? It seems a bit implausible Japanese HC gamers would have never played games located in Tokyo (or a fictional Tokyo) or visited Akiba. But I guess those unexpected, illogical reactions are a part of their charm. They also lead to the funny bets in their (at least less imporant) games.

[NeoCybercoin]

I think's mostly because it looks like their outside world. A place where they don't really go to. You remember how they reacted when Jibrill made a beach in their game? They almost lost their shit because of that. They don't go out.

[Kraco]

Hmm... Right. I suppose that makes sense, even if pretty delicately. But I suppose playing a game traditionally in 2D (or even with our rudimentary 3D) would be different from the total immersion VR they are in now, thus triggering their mental breakdown. Nevertheless, it's pretty pitiful since they do know they are in a game. I guess they'll get back on their feet when the action really begins.

[Archangel]

As neets they feel comfortable outside in the other world because they view it as a videogame of sorts, reality doesn't do well with them.

[Ryllharu]

I enjoyed the way Kurami and Fi's relationship works out. Fi may describe Kurami as her only actual friend, but it's pretty clear that Kurami doesn't dare defy her on even the most minor of things. Kurami ends up being more and more like Fi's pet, rather than the way it seemed earlier in the series where Kurami was the brains and Fi was the artillery. I didn't think calling it "motherly" fit.

Fi lets her play around and show off, but Kurami isn't allowed to get out of line or too boisterous.

[poopdeville]

I'm on the second episode, where the blank brother is playing rock-paper-scissors. Are the rules for all the games they play laid out as specifically and definitely as the rock-paper-scissors? It might be fun to figure out the Nash equilibrium for the games.

[Buffalobiian]

I'm on the second episode, where the blank brother is playing rock-paper-scissors. Are the rules for all the games they play laid out as specifically and definitely as the rock-paper-scissors? It might be fun to figure out the Nash equilibrium for the games.

More or less. They lay the groundworks for the games they play, but the games aren't all "probability" games like rock-paper-scissors.

Hmm... Right. I suppose that makes sense, even if pretty delicately. But I suppose playing a game traditionally in 2D (or even with our rudimentary 3D) would be different from the total immersion VR they are in now, thus triggering their mental breakdown. Nevertheless, it's pretty pitiful since they do know they are in a game. I guess they'll get back on their feet when the action really begins.

Rather than them being in a VR right now, I think it's more like they teleported to real-life Tokyo. Having sole access to Akihabara/Tokyo would also explain how Warbeasts alone managed to advance their technology so quickly and so similarly to humans.

[Kraco]

Rather than them being in a VR right now, I think it's more like they teleported to real-life Tokyo. Having sole access to Akihabara/Tokyo would also explain how Warbeasts alone managed to advance their technology so quickly and so similarly to humans.

Hard to say yet. It would depend on what sort of a game they are going to play. After all, if it's the real Tokyo and they were teleported there, it would somewhat limit the warbeasts' own options. There's still a limit to what they could do in a real human city, and even if it's Tokyo, too magical looking beings would attract some attention sooner or later, not to mention magic.

[Buffalobiian]

Hard to say yet. It would depend on what sort of a game they are going to play. After all, if it's the real Tokyo and they were teleported there, it would somewhat limit the warbeasts' own options. There's still a limit to what they could do in a real human city, and even if it's Tokyo, too magical looking beings would attract some attention sooner or later, not to mention magic.

Except that cosplay is totally acceptable there, as are unbelievable gaming skills. Their would is also not bound by the same rules this one is, so they could do all sorts of things to humans (as opposed to Imanity) and get away with it.

[Kraco]

What sort of things? If they got too much out of line in Tokyo, they would get accosted by the police.

Still, I imagine the whole point of this, following the teloportation idea, is that they found a way to Tokyo, found arcades (and other gaming venues), got hooked, and later realised they could use it in the serious games against other peoples in their own world. In other words, the games would be exceedingly ordinary and Shiro & Sora would beat the warbeasts 100-0 if they got over their ridiculous antisocial disease.

[Buffalobiian]

What sort of things? If they got too much out of line in Tokyo, they would get accosted by the police.

Whatever magic/ability/cheating that they can get away with without anyone noticing that it was they who did it.

I'm in agreement that the games shouldn't be terribly difficult for Blank if they're all the real-life varieties they encounter on the street.

[NeoCybercoin]

Perhaps the game reads the fear of the challengers and edits itself accordingly to give the War Beasts a advantage?